El Rayo, a bandit known as the Mexican Robin Hood, wagers with Rodolfo, a member of his gang, that he can win the heart of the lovely cabaret dancer Dolores Romero, known as "The Dove". A condition of the bet is that El Rayo cannot divulge his identity as the famous bandit, and consequently, he masquerades as José Maria Lopez y Tostado, the brother of a wealthy landowner. Accompanied by his friend, Pasqual, El Rayo rides to the Purple Pigeon Cafe where the Dove performs. At the cafe, the boisterous El Rayo demands that The Dove entertain him, and the cafe owner, Mike Bascom, orders the defenseless dancer to comply with the señor's wishes. In desperation, The Dove turns to Johnny Powell, the young dice dealer at the casino, for help. In their plight, Johnny and The Dove discover that they love each other and plan to meet at midnight to elope across the border. As midnight approaches, however, Johnny accuses Charlie, one of the dice players, of cheating, and in the ensuing shootout, Johnny kills Charlie. As a result, Johnny is jailed for murder, and El Rayo warns The Dove that a lynch mob will hang him before morning. El Rayo promises to help Johnny escape across the border on condition that The Dove spend the night with him, and to save her lover, The Dove agrees. To create a diversion, El Rayo arranges for his men to rob Bascom's cafe, and in the confusion, the bandits break Johnny out of jail and escort him across the border. The next day, as El Rayo prepares to depart with his prize, Johnny returns for The Dove. When Rodolfo appears and explains the terms of the debt to The Dove, she feigns love for El Rayo, and having saved face, the bandit releases her to marry Johnny.

The working title of this picture was The Dove . In 1928, United Artists released a version of Willard Mack's play entitled The Dove , directed by Roland West and starring Norma Talmadge, Noah Beery and Gilbert Roland (see entry above).

The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.